Monday, November 29, 2010

I gave a peek into my UFO closet in yesterday's post. If you have not seen it, scroll on down to the previous post. I was asked what quilt top says "Holly" on it. That was about all you could see of it in the picture. I could not find the photo I have shown before on my blog of this particular quilt. I said I would post it again. It has been done for a while and needs quilting.

It is difficult for me to pin a quilt of any size to the design wall, so it is not hanging very straight. The pattern set I used is by Cheri Saffiote-Payne. I do not think it is available any longer but you could e-mail and ask her about it if you are interested. I made a couple changes to the quilt design as I made the blocks.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The pattern is by Linda Brannock and is in the book "Miss Jump's Memories". There are three borders to add. One border is pieced. I just wanted to share with you what I am working on.

Also, I thought I would give you a little peek of the quilt tops hanging in the UFO closet. They are waiting for quilting. I have two tops layered and ready to go that aren't hanging in there. There are projects in progress in the bins that you see.

My SIL arrived yesterday and will be leaving tomorrow. Our oldest and dearest friends will be arriving tomorrow afternoon for a week's stay. I will get some sewing time but not a lot. But we will be doing other fun things.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the USA. I just want to share with you pictures of two quilts that fit the theme of the day. Both have been shown on my blog in the past.

The first is "Pumpkins and Turkey Feathers". A Jan Patek pattern. You can read about it here.

The second quilt is wall hanging size and was made by an old friend. I made her one as a gift. Every time I would see it hanging in her home, I commented that I should have made myself one. She surprised me one day with one that she made from the same pattern. A Country Threads pattern was used.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I finished the applique on a sunflower wall hanging. Could be used for a table runner as it is wide in width and narrow in length.

The pattern name is "Celebration" and is from a book called "The Olde Farmhouse". The book is by Joined at the Hip and can be seen here. I prepped the applique parts a few weeks ago on one of the nights I had difficulty sleeping. I started the applique Monday and finished it Tuesday evening. That was fast. I had the exact border fabric that was used in the sample quilt. One of those jacquard fabrics by Jan Patek. Now the top becomes a UFO waiting to be quilted. This will make a nice summer piece.

Another block and filler parts completed for the BOM that I am working on. No applique on this one so it made up very quickly.

I had trouble sleeping one night earlier in the week. I started to prep a small applique piece. Part way through, I realized that the pattern instructions said to enlarge 125%. I was not too happy. It is a pet peeve of mine that full size applique patterns are not included. And it does need to be full size, so the prepped parts went in the trash.

I received a stuffed package from Mary of Quilt Hollow this week. She sent me some plaid fabrics that she was not using. They will be put to good use in some of my projects. A wonderful treat delivered by the mailman instead of a bill! A big thank you to Mary.

I have another prepped applique project I can work on today or whatever suits my fancy. No plans for the day. We need to stay away from the grocery stores. So many people will be out buying food for their Thanksgiving celebration. We don't want to fight the crowds.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Look what I did over the weekend. "Wild Turkey" is a completed top. And all made from stash.

I cut out the turkey applique parts over a year ago. It sat in a basket waiting for the backgrounds to be selected and some stitching to be done. I came close to tossing out those parts more than once. But I really liked the pattern. I saw the quilt displayed on Quilts and Pieces blog. Take a look if you have time. It reminded me just how much I liked the design. I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and do something about those parts and pieces. I enjoyed the process. Now to see if I can find time to quilt it. The pattern is by Country Threads and can be found here.

I did a sample applique of "Rachel's Reel" to see if I want to make more for a quilt. I did it reproduction fabrics which is what I would do for a quilt.

It is a Jo Morton design. There is a book out with the pattern in it but I found the pattern here free on the internet. If you are interested in the book which has more settings for the block, visit Jo's site here.

Friday, November 19, 2010

I went a little bit crazy and finished "Quilter's Village" from the Buggy Barn book called "A Little Bit Crazy". The book is available here.

I have to say that doing the Crazy style Buggy Barn quilts is not for me. I am so tempted by the patterns in the books but I gave away all the books that focus on quilts done in this method. These are patterns where you start with an oversize drawing of the finished block and lay it on a stack of fat quarters. Cut on the drawn lines. Then you take the stack of pieces and rotate within the stack before starting to sew. You end up with the parts of the block done in all the different fabrics. Such as the background will be light on some blocks and dark on others depending on how the fabrics fall within the stack. If you haven't done this method, I know this doesn't make much sense. I think you pretty much have to do it to understand. I like the quilt because it has houses on it but I think I would have liked it better if I had used more fabrics that read almost solid from a distance. I did simple quilting on this just to get it done. The quilt top has been finished and in the UFO closet for quite a while. Time to just get it done. Looking at the picture of the quilt from a distance, I like it better than close up.
I have finished the applique on another of the designer basket patterns. I like this one. I need to make the pinwheel filler blocks that were in this packet. The parts are cut and ready to go and should not take long to sew.

I forget which blog I saw the turkey wall hanging on very recently. I immediately recognized the piece as being one in my UFO closet. It has probably been there for two years. I had the turkey parts cut out but not the background blocks. I pulled it from the closet and, cut the backgrounds, and now I am going to spend a little time on doing a bit of applique on it. The pattern is from Country Threads. I think I only have one quilt made that could be considered a Thanksgiving quilt and the holiday is less than a week away. I may not finish the quilt in time this year but will make a go of it anyhow.

I need to head for my chair, get out the needle and thread and start stitching.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

I feel like I have been a very good girl of late as the mailman brought me another unexpected envelope. This time it contained a stitchery pattern I had my eyes on a while back. Cathi from Shakerwood Quilts knew that it interested me very much and has sent it to me.

The stitchery is prim style which is my favorite. I need to get busy on this some time soon as I discovered that I don't have nearly as much patriotic stuff as I thought I did. It will go well with the Uncle Sam wall hanging I have in the works. A big thank you to Cathi. If you have not visited one of her blogs, be sure to do so sometime soon. She has one for hand dyed wools and one for prim style decorating along with her quilting blog.

I lost a photo last week of the next set of blocks for the designer quilt I am working on. I took another photo this morning so I can share progress with you.

The handles on the paper pieced baskets don't show all that well but that was the fabric that was to be used for them. I like the narrow trim on the applique basket top and base. A different look.

I finished two quilts this week. I have shown both on my blog in the past when they were at the completed top stage. Now they are machine quilted and the binding done. I don't have my official quilt holder here to hold the first quilt up for a picture so I draped it on the rocker out on the lanai. I pieced this last year from fabric I purchased three years ago. Hey, at least I used the fabric. Now I have another fall quilt and it is done before fall is officially over.

The pattern is from a Kim Diehl book called "Simple Seasons". The pattern name is "Duck, Duck, Goose". I like Kim's books a lot. I just ordered her new book and it is on the way as we speak.

The second quilt I finished is one I really like. It is called "Town Square" and is from a book called "Houses" by Fig Tree Designs.

The center fabric is one of the Coverlet reproduction fabrics. It has houses, birds, and trees on it. I thought it was a good choice for the quilt center. The houses are made from different red reproduction fabrics. A couple of the reds are ones that were not specifically repro fabric but I thought they looked like they could be. This is not a large quilt and will make a nice one to display.

I have all my blocks made for the sew along that Cheri was having. I have not done the center strips nor the applique yet.

Cheri named the quilt "Soot and Ashes" so I used reproduction fabrics that reminded me of that. Cheri is a participant in "Home for the Holidays" and has a prim style little quilt pattern on her blog that you can make. Poke around a bit and you can see a picture of the finished project on another post.

A beautiful day in Florida. I am heading to the sewing room and will enjoy the sunshine through the window right by my machine. Have a good day and take time to sew.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

I am doing the Happy Dance. I received a surprise package in the mail from Mary of Quilt Hollow. Look what was inside.

A Schnibble quilt made with Kansas Troubles fabric. My kind of colors! Love the scalloped edge on this quilt. The quilting design has butterflies in it. Mary does such nice longarm quilting. I think I must have been a very good girl to have received this. A big thank you to you, Mary.

I have been doing some of the machine stitching on "Land of the Free". Here are the three blocks I finished last week.

You can see the blocks laid out on this post. Still lots of stitching to do.

I have more to share with you but lost one of my photos and have to retake it. And I have a couple projects nearing the finish. I will be back soon to show you more.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A finish to share with you. I started the "Jack-O-Lanterns" quilt last year in the fall but did not complete it in time for Halloween. I finished the binding two days ago. Too late for Halloween this year but at least it was quilted before October 31st.

The quilt looks wider at the top in the photo but I assure you it is not. My husband is holding it up for me and I promised to edit him out of the picture. This was a fun quilt to make. I think there were three mouths, three noses, and three sets of eyes in the pattern. You mix and match them at random and come up with different looks for the faces. The pattern is in a book by Terri Christopherson called "Sunflower Patch". Below is a picture of the back of the quilt. I like surprises on the quilt backing.

I used up fabric pieces to construct the backing and made a giant version of the jack-o-lantern block.

I received a cute handmade pumpkin pincushion from Desi. Good for fall decorating and to add to my pincushion collection. A big thank-you, Desi!

It is hard to see in the picture but wire was curled to use for the vine and Desi attached a tag with a thank-you and her name. A nice touch.

I found the following hand crocheted items at a thrift store.

I am guessing that they are all meant to be pot holders, though a few are kind of small.

I discovered this morning that the white & yellow one becomes a basket when you hold it by the little hanging loop. I don't know how you would display this to keep it in the basket shape. It is flat until you hold the loop and let it hang. I don't collect these kind of items but they deserved a home. Maybe I can find a better home for them one of these days.

The crocheted bag is from the same thrift store. It has a drawstring. I am not sure what it is meant to be used for. Nicely made though.

Monday, November 1, 2010

I have lots to share with you today. First, I have the two "Basket Collection" quilt tops completed. It is hard to tell the difference between the two but there are a few differences in the fabric.

I pinned these to the design wall and I sure did not do a good job of getting them straight. I did not pin the bottoms so they are not showing flat either. But you get the idea. One will make a nice gift.
Next, I forgot to share my October stitchery with you. And since it is November 1st today, I will also share November's.

I completed another basket block in the Designer BOM series. Some of you have asked about the BOM. It is not a current one but from a year or two ago. It is from Moda U and has basket blocks and filler blocks from different designers. The one just completed is a Minnick & Simpson design. The background is pieced and makes for a heavier block.

I have a new project going. I know it is fall but I am working on "Uncle Sam" by Country Threads. It will make a nice wall hanging for July. I have a few stars left to machine stitch around, the beard to stitch, and the face to complete. Then quilt.

Uncle Sam is hanging crooked like the basket quilts. He was easy to piece.

I have finally joined the ranks of being a Schnibbler. I have so enjoyed seeing the year of Schnibbles on so many blogs and wanted to make some of my own. Just needed some time. This pattern was "Lincoln" and is made with two charm packs of Wicassett by Minick and Simpson. It was easy to make. In fact, I made it in one day. I love the way the stars are pieced. The points do not come to the edge of the block and make for easy assembly with adjoining blocks. Just need to quilt the top.

There is a new free quilt pattern series just starting at The Rabbit Factory. You can see the quilt on the blog at http://therabbitfactory.blogspot.com/. It is a series of four applique patterns and the first can be found here. I am saving the patterns as there isn't time right now but they are going to be well worth saving.

Our company left but one will be returning in about a week or so. I need to get her interested in sewing quilts!

Beautiful weather here. It is 82 degrees right now. Have a great day wherever you are.